Former Guvernment nightclub in Toronto to become Daniels Waterfront – City of Arts

On March 26th, The Daniels Corporation unveiled their expansive, 1,320,000 square foot redevelopment plans for the former Guvernment Entertainment Complex on the Toronto waterfront.

Dubbed “Daniels Waterfront – City of Arts,” the proposal would see a mix of residential, academic, office and arts space at the corner of Queen’s Quay and Jarvis, as well as partnerships with academic institutions, Waterfront Toronto and Artscape.

The first phase, which will make up the southern parcel of the site, would introduce 280,000 square feet of commercial office space into the area in the form of two office towers. The Daniels Corporation will pack up its headquarters at Yonge and Queen and move south the East Bayfront.

A “Creative Industries Hub,” spanning 150,000 square feet will also be part of the first leg of the project. Artscape announced they will be moving their head office to the City of Arts in 2018. They’ll be joined by a number of arts and culture groups such as Last Gang Entertainment and the Remix Project, a non-profit that works with under-privileged youth looking to launch careers in the creative sector.

Retail space, in the form of shops, restaurants and cafes, is also planned for the the first phase.

As predicted by the first rumours of redevelopment, there will be condos. Phase 2, or the north parcel of the redevelopment, will feature a 48-storey condo known as the Lighthouse Tower, though there will be more than 900 suites in two towers altogether. Lighthouse Tower will hit the market this fall.

George Brown College, which currently has a campus just down the street at Dockside Drive, is considering expanding their footprint on the waterfront and partnering with Daniels, as is OCAD University. The partnership could potentially bring about a centre for innovation and commercialization.

“The variety of its program in arts, cultural, innovation and education plus the mix of people living and working on the site and a strong emphasis on expanding the public realm for all season use will make this project a magnet for creative endeavours on the Toronto waterfront,” said Ken Greenberg, Principal at Greenberg Consultants Inc.

During the unveiling, Greenberg noted that the site would bring about three times as many people to the area during day as there would be sleeping in the new condos at night.

Sugar Beach will also be extended to the City of Arts and an east-west pedestrian link between Lower Jarvis and Richardson Street would be introduced to the site.

Mayor John Tory came out to the unveiling and applauded the vision.

“The project will complement the future East Bayfront community, further adding to the diversity of our waterfront while creating jobs that are central to our city’s growth,” he said.

The projected cost is currently $700 million.

Here’s a first look at the renderings for the project as well as photos from the event: